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My last and final goal on my vision board is to simply make myself a happier person. ERWC has given me tangible examples to make myself a better and bubbly person. Many of these things I have taken to heart and tried to implement. To achieve this is virtually not difficult. I've started taking more time for myself: to meditate, to pamper, to spend time alone.. I've also started strengthening my relationships: expressed my gratitude more often, given more compliments, given more hugs. It has made my mind clearer. While I know there will be tough times in my future, I know I can always rely on simplicity, gratitude, and spreading kindness to persevere. While I have this platform, I am forever grateful for the opportunities I've been afforded at Great Oak and in this class. Thank you so much.

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I've always been more artistically inclined. Anything that has to do with designing and art, I've been interested in. Right now, I draw as a medium for fun and entertainment. I would love to become someone who uses painting or drawing as a pathway for self-expression, meaning that what I draw now has little to no meaning behind it. I would like to paint with purpose. I believe that painting is not only fun, but it is therapeutic. This goal is quite immediate. I've signed up to take a few painting and art classes during the summer that will improve my artistic vision, as well as my technical skills. My overall goal is to improve my art as well as find more time to make it.

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One thing that I take very seriously is what I wear. Fashion has always been very inspiring to me from a model's confidence to the concept and design created. It has always excited me thinking about owning something that no one else in the world owns. I've tried to keep my style original and true to myself. That is why I would like to learn how to sew. If I could customize my clothes or even create my clothes from scratch, I could activate the creative side of my mind and create something completely original. All this would take to achieve is some fashion classes or some sewing classing. After that, I could start designing and creating!

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My sister and I have always talked about going to the Philippines when we were older, or whenever our grandpa had the opportunity to take us. While no definite trip has been planned out, we know that a trip must happen. Being Filipino, we are both interested in discovering our culture, and experiencing our homeland for ourselves. Traveling is definitely one of my bucket list things, and traveling to the Philippines is at the top of that list. My grandma, who had past away a few years ago, had always wanted to take her two grandchildren back home. When she passed away from cancer without having taken us, I made it a top priority for me and my sister to go. The trip would obviously be dedicated for my grandma, but the islands of the Philippines are so beautiful, much of the vacation will be of my own benefit as well. For a week's worth of vacation to the Philippines, a round trip flight during the summer would cost a bit over $1000. With hotel rates ranging from $80-180 a night, the trip would potentially cost $2260, not including food. To compare, Great Oak's Europe Trip costed about $2500, and included food and tours for around the same amount of time. This trip, to me, is more meaningful, and it would relatively be around the same amount. I did not go on the Europe trip, but I could have been able to. Because the Philippines trip matters more to me, to raise funds for me to possibly take this trip would require me to work more, and save my money for about 6 months.

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One of the things my parents really emphasized to me as I grew up was to grow our family. They would repeatedly tell me that they want grandchildren. Their requests for kids of my own were always stressful for me to think about: me being gay, there is not natural way for me to reproduce unless it is through surrogacy. And even doing so, the expenses to having a surrogate must be taken into account: $55 thousand or more. Another option I could take would be to adopt; this is more favorable to me than surrogacy. I could potentially give opportunities to a foster child that may not receive the same opportunities if they were to stay in a foster home. The process of adoption is also a difficult one. To adopt costs about $40,000-50,000. And with the application process, the qualifications of a gay family often must be higher than that of a straight family. Adoption agencies, many of times, will choose a family that is of two, heterosexual parents rather than two gay parents of the same financial standings and social backgrounds. Some applications even require a down payment. The overall process is quite expensive, and require a lot of the adoptive parents. They must be overly perfect, rich, and within a hetero-normative household. This, therefore, makes adoption difficult as well. However, I won't like these tribulations defeat my call. It will require that I become financially successful before I can even think about any baby names (which are Autumn and Luca)!

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Living in Temecula, home of an amazing wine country, I always see the hot air balloons in the early morning. They're beautiful from far away. When I was young, one had landed on my street and I got to see it so up close. I was so young, and this memory has stuck with me. Since then, I have wanted to fly in one and experience it for myself. There is something so graceful and peaceful about this contraptions, and I am definitely going to ride one in the immediate future. This goal is definitely achievable because it is quite literally in my backyard.

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During the fall of 2019, I will be attending the University of California, Berkeley! I am majoring in Civil Engineering and I am expected to graduate in the year of 2023. After my freshman year, I may change my major to something more design based depending on how happy my freshman courses make me. My parents have always emphasized to me that no amount of money is worth being unhappy. If I change my major, I should not be afraid to do so if this new major makes me happier. So, by the end of the next four years, I would like to graduate with a Bachelors' Degree in something that I am truly passionate about. As long as I am working on things that I love to do, my income will not matter to me. Accomplishing this goal requires a lot of focus. I cannot afford to diverge and lose my ways. To graduate will call me to study and take time for my education rather than for my social benefit. I have never been one to quit. I like to do things from start to finish, and I feel almost unfulfilled if I don't finish things. Graduation, therefore, is so important to me. I have worked 13 years to get here, and now that I am here, I want to make the most of every moment I have. College will be an amazing experience, but I must always be reminded of why I am here and who I am doing this for: to get an education, and to make myself and my family proud.

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During the summer in between my Freshman and Sophomore year, I had come out to the world as apart of the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to that moment, I felt so pressured to come out which made the process much more nerving. Everyone expected me to be open about myself, but instead, I was very reserved because I feared what others would think of me. I feared the judgement. I feared the abandonment. I haven't faced any of this adversity, but rather a family of people that have accepted me. Last year, I had went to the Los Angeles Pride Parade in West Hollywood. I felt so happy to be surrounded by those like me. This being my first pride, I gained new insight on the community I represent. People like me have been oppressed for many years. In some states today, Gays can be fired from their job just because of their sexual orientation. It can be scary navigating the world as a gay boy, so participating in these Pride Parades and donating the LGBT organizations will be a goal I will try to fulfill in the future. This is important to me because I want the LGBT to be accepted in Temecula. Gay boys like me can be like all other boys, too, and it is important for me to show that to Temecula. People tend to have negative perceptions of gays here, so the message of the Pride Parades is ever-so-important. This will be so easy to achieve because it is practically sewn into my being and into my culture.

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In many of the studies that ERWC has provided for us, one is truly happy if they find relationships in which the bonds are strong. Such relationships can be within their family, their friendships, or their significant others. While I do feel a strong familial bond, I do wish that my friendships become stronger. With good friendships, I, like most people, want to find someone to love and to love me. I don't care about labeling something as "official," but I would want to spend the most time around the person or people that I truly care for. Honestly, it has always been a fear that I would die without having been in love once. I've always found it quite difficult to connect with people on a romantic level because I am always connecting with those same people on a friendly level. An ideal person I am looking for is one who can balance our personality types: me as an extrovert and him as an introvert. There are no steps I could take that would guarantee that I fall in love, and I believe that the less you try and force love, the more likely it is to come to you. So, I am in no rush to search for a companion. Over the past 18 years, I've learned that I appreciate independence and finding myself, but I also have come to appreciate those around me that exemplify my personality without wanting me to change. While I value my independence, I find it important to find someone to love as well.

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As I turned 18, I was supposed to get a matching tattoo with my mom. Both of us are Aries on the Zodiac calendar, so we were both getting the Aries Ram as shown below. As nervous as I am, I am so excited to have something me and my mom can relate in. There is not much to prepare on this goal, but achieving this goal itself is scary. I was supposed to get to this tattoo last year in Arizona, but chickened out! So I would like to get it this year to make up for it. My mom already has it tattooed on her side, so I am going to get it where my dad got his first tattoo: over his heart.